Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twelve analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $308.00.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Cfra upgraded Pool from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $304.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Pool from $320.00 to $250.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Pool from $295.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Pool from $360.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $320.00 price objective on Pool and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th.

Institutional Trading of Pool

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Pool by 27.4% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the period. Patton Fund Management Inc. increased its position in Pool by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. now owns 893 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $204,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Pool by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,115 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its stake in shares of Pool by 40.9% in the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 57,370 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $13,123,000 after purchasing an additional 16,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pool by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,794 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Pool Stock Performance

NASDAQ:POOL opened at $265.03 on Friday. Pool has a 12 month low of $226.10 and a 12 month high of $374.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 2.57 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.87 billion, a PE ratio of 24.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $242.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $281.82.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The specialty retailer reported $3.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.38 by $0.01. Pool had a return on equity of 31.40% and a net margin of 7.77%.The company had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.26 EPS. Pool’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Pool will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th were paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Pool’s payout ratio is currently 45.58%.

About Pool

Pool Corporation is a leading wholesale distributor of swimming pool supplies, equipment, and related outdoor living products. Headquartered in Covington, Louisiana, the company serves a diverse customer base that includes service professionals, independent retailers, high-volume builders, and national retail chains. Pool Corporation’s extensive branch network enables it to maintain strong local customer relationships while leveraging its scale to source products efficiently from manufacturers around the world.

The company’s product portfolio spans pool and spa chemicals, water treatment equipment, pumps, filters, heaters, automation and control systems, liners, safety covers, and cleaning accessories.